Expressing apparatus



Nov. 8, 1927. 1,648,477

v A. W. FRENCH EXPRESSING AFPARATUS Filed Sept. 12, 1921 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 8, 1927.

A. W. FRENCH EXPRESSING APPARATUS 12. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept /1 7" To APA/5 x5.

Patented Nov. 8,- 1927.

UNITED S'Ii'ls ALFRED W', FRENCH,` OFy TBIQUA, OHIO.

EXPRESSING APPARATUS.

Application sied september 1e, 1921. serial No. 500,243.

This invention relates to expressing presses, such for example as presses of the cage type in which material is subjected to pressure to express the oil or liquid t-herefrom in an open-ended, upright cage into which the material is usually introduced in successive or superposed layers or charges separated by press plates'and press cloths. The side walls of the usual cages are provided with small openings of some sort for the escape of the experssed liquid, such openings consisting of small drill holes or narrow slits in the lining plates in the cage, or being formed by separate, parallel bars arranged to leave narrow spaces between them. As heretofore operated, so far as I am aware, the edgesof the charges of material contact directly with theinner faces of the walls of the cage-in which the drainage openings are formed, and when the material is subjected to pressure, solid particles of the meal or material squeeze out and clog the drainage openings more or less so that theoil or liquid has diliiculty in escaping, and, therefore, a much longer time is required for the expressing operation than if a freer escape of oil were possible. the case when operating upon some niaterials, such for instance as copra, in which the flow of oil is copius and has a tendency to wash away some of the meal with it. For the salie of brevity of description, the ma.- terial is hereinafter called meal and liquid COIH. v

The primary object of the invention is to provide cage presses with means which will insure a ready escape for the expressed oil and prevent the clogging of the small drainage openings of the cage. Other objects of the invention are to accomplish this result by the provision of a cloth, mat or analogous, porous, drainage medium between the meal being pressed and the drainage openings in the wall of theca'ge, which mat or drainage medium is adapted to permit free passage of the expressed oil through the same, but confine the meal and prevent the same from entering and clogging the drainage openings in the wall o'f the cage; also to construct the press cage so to facilitate the charging and discharging thereof and reduce to the minimum the wear on the mat or porous drainage medium, due to ressure and friction of the mat against t ie cage wall when compressing the meal in the cage and when discharging the This is particularly l pressed cakes from the cage; also to prevent the meal from packing more denselyin one side of the cage than in the other portions thereof; and also to improve cage presses in the other respects hereinafter described and set forth in the claims. f

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical section of a cage press embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the press cage, a part being broken away.

is a fragmentary horizontal sect-ion thereof on line 3 3, Fig. 4.

Fig. ll is a vertical section of the press cage. p l

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the upper portion of the cage showing the drainage mat folded over on the top cake. i

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section showing Vthe lposition of the parts when the charging box ladvances over the cage to deposit its charge inthe cage. n Figs. 7 and 8` are fragmentary elevations showingthe raised and lowered positions respectively of the hinged plate at the rear side of the cage.

A represents the cage of a ,cage press. The cage, except as hereinafter explained, may be of any lsuitable construction, the cage shown in the drawings consisting of the yusual hollow, open-ended, steel shell or cast-- ing provided interiorly with vertical spaced ribs a and suitable drainage or lining plates or members B secured against the inner edges Vof the ribsfwhich brace the lining plates. with narrow slits Z) or other suitable vopenings through which t-he expressed oilv escapes into vertical flow channels a formed between the ribs a in the walls of the cage. In the cage shown, the slitted drainage plates are provided at the four upright sides of the cage, but it is sufiicient for the purposes of this invent-ion to have drainage openings at only one side of the cage, and the remaining walls ofthe cage can be made solid or without drainage openings if desired.

C represents the usual meal or charge box movable horizontally over the top of the cage for depositing the charges of meal in the cage, and dal represent respectively press plates and press cloths of any usual or suitable kind, which are used to separate the chargesy of meal in the cage to facilitate the escape of oil to the sides cf the cage.

These lining plates are provided represents a porous or perviene drain-f A .cessivey charges of meal.

age medium adapted to be introduced into the press cage betiveen the charges ol meal and the inner' tace ot a side Wall of the cage havin@ the drainage openings. This drainage medium preferably consists ot a cloth, mat or analogous iabrie.I ol' suitable librous material which forms a screen be.- tWeen the material and the Wall ot the cage through which the expressed oil can readily flow to the drainage 4openings in the cage wall, but Whichis adapted to contine the meal or tine, solid particles and prevent the escape et thesame into the drainage openings. Cocoa matting,` made :from the coir fibre of the coconut has been ound to be eminently satisfactory for the purpose, since it. holds back the meal While permitting a very tree tloiv of the oil, and will not close up the small drainage slits or openings in the cage Wall when pressed against the same. This material is also comparatively inexpensive, strong and durzfzole. The mat may consist of a plurality et short leneths of material either separate or attached together. or of two or more thicknesses ot like or different material, as may be most suitable lier the particular material being; pressed.

Preferably, the mat lil isk loose or disconnected 'from the press cage and is placed in the same by 'feeding the mat `doyvn into the cage as the cage is being filled and as the ram. F descends to malte room Vtor the suc- For instance, the lower end o'tthe inatcan be in serted and held between the ram and a bottom plate f which is` placed in the cage on the ram, or detachably connected with the Vram in any other suitable Way so that as the ram descends, the mat E, which may hang over the upper edge ot the cage, will be drawn down into the cage. lNhen the cage has been tilled, the upper end ot the mat can be turned over on the top cake or charge ot i'naterial as indicated at 10, or lett hangingout ot the cage.

lVhen pressure is applied. the loose meal con'iprising the charges or cakes Will be conipressed in the cage to a much smaller volume and t-he mat E ivill also be compressed or collapsed endivise in the cage as the cakes are compressed. This causes a movement ot the mat against the side wall ot the cage. and the pressure causes the meal to, spread and exert alateral pressure against the mat which would cause considerable friction and, Wear on the mat unless prevented` Under the heat/' yy pressure to which the meal is subjected to express the liquid. the cakes expand laterally and retain a certain degree o'telasticity, so that in ejecting` the pressed cakes Jfrom the care the mat would also he subjected to objectionable it'riction and wear if used in a cage of ordinary construction. Press cages have been made with. af taper to tacilitatet-he discharge of the pressed cakes theretronnbut only a very slight taper has been used so as not to inter-tere with the settling of the charges in the cage when filling the latter.

In order to relieve lateral pressure and friction on the mat E and at the same time ensure the proper settling,r of the charges in the cage as the ram descends When filling the cage, the latter is constructed so that the inner iace oit the Wall. Withivhich the mat E contacts, converges downwardly toward the opj'iosite wall. and a cover plate ll may be provided which projects inwardly beyond the upper edge ot the inner 'face oil the wall. When the charging box C passes over the top et the cage to deposit its charge ot meal in the canje in the usual manner, the overhanging inner edge ot the cover plate 1l causes a clearance in the cage between the charge ot material and the drainage inatE, as indicated at l2. lVhen, therefore, rthe charges are lovvered in the cage by the de.- scent of the'ram to malte room :tor succeeding charges, they Will not contact with or bear strongly against the inclined face ot the mat in the cage, and the inclination of the side et the cage will not interii'ere Wit-l1 the charges settling` properly in the cage. This clearance or looseness in the material in the cage next to the drainage `mat also assists, it is believed,jin giving a. treer drainage ot the oil. The cover plate is adapted to be moved so asnot to overhang,` the chamber ol' the cage and thus not obstruct the pressed cakes from being ejected through the upper end of the cage, and for this purpose the cover plate ll in the construction shown is a loose plate removablyretained in place on the upper end et the cage and it can he removed When the cage is to be discharged. After the material is thoroughly pressed and the ram is moved up in the cage to push out the cakes, the lateral pressure oft the cakes against the drainage mat will be relieved almost inmiediately after the cakes' are started upwardly. duc to said inclination of the cage Wall at this side, thereby eliminating' friction. and Wear on the mat and reducing the pressure required to eject the cakes. This advantage is particularly emphasized in cage presses et' the lxiud disclosed in United States Letters :atent No. 1.360.205, granted to me November i920, in which lthe cage A is charejed in a lilling.r press having a sub-cage or cage extension, shown at lll in the drawings. below the cage A and adapted when filling; the caer. to receive a number ol" charges, which are atterivard pushed up into` the main cage A and compacted Wit-h the other charges in the latter in order to get a larger number of charges in the main cage, which is then removed from the filling press and placed in another press in which the .final high pres sure is applied.

lili! The described construction of the cage A enables the chargesv to be pushed from the sub-cage into the main cage in much less time. due to the fact that the oil expressed in the filling cage can escape much more freely and the speed of upward movement of the rain is determined by the rate of escape of the liquid.

l5 represents a plate or member adapted to project inwardly over the cage chamber from the upper edge of the rear side ofthe cage A, or that side thereof from which the charging box C advances over the cage to deposit the charges in the cage. The plate l5 is preferably hinged in any suitable manner so as to swing from a vertical position shown in Fig; 7, to a horizontal inwardly projecting position, shown in Fig. 8. In the vertical position the plate does not overhang the cage chamber and will not interfere with the introduction ofthe press plates and cloths Z lf into the cage, nor obstruct the discharge of the pressed cakes from the cage. A spring 16 connected to a crank arm 17 on one end of the plate 15,' or other suitable actuating means, is provided for normally holding the plate l5 yieldingly in its vertical position and returning it when rel-eased to that position. When the charge box advances to deposite a charge of meal in the cage7 it engages and swings the plate l5 down to its horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 6, and holds the plate in this position while the charge box is moving forwardly and backwardly above the cage. The plate l5 then overhangs somewhat the cage chamber and prevents the meal from packing as densely at this side of the cage as it otherwise would do. The charge box has a tendency on its return stroke to drag and pack the meal against the rear side of the cage so that the density of the meal is greater at the rear of the cage against the rear drainage plate B. The plate l5, however, prevents this packing and gives a little looseness of the meal at the rear of the cage.

vThis looseness disappears when the pressure is applied, makingthe cake of substantially uniform density throughout, and in addition the looseness cooperates with the clearance or looseness before mentioned at the opposite side of the. cage in enabling the charges to follow the ram down or settle properly in the cage.

As shown, each of the plates l1 and 15 is provided with a depending lip'lS at its inner edge to make the plates more eiiicient in giving the described clearance or looseness in the meal at the front and rear sides of the cage but these lips are not indispensable.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination with a press cage having an open end for the introduction of the material to be pressed, a side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the ex- 4of the separated charges of material in said cage when the ram is retracted in charging the material into the cage.

2. The combination with a press cage having an open end for the introduction of the 'material to be pressed, a side wall provided with small openings for the escapefof the expressed liquid, a plurality of charge separating members disposed substantially transverselyto said side wall for maintaining the charges of material in the cage separated and for facilitating escape of the expressed liquid to the side wall, and a ram which is movable endwise in the cage for applying pressure to the material through said charge separating members, of a loose fibrous drainage fabric arranged to enter the open end yof the cage and to be connected. to a movable part in the cage so as to be drawn intothe cage across the side edges of the separated charges of material in the cage and between said side edges and the side wall of the cage when the ram is retracted in charging the material into the cage. i

3. Thecombination with a press cage having an open end for the introduction of the material to be pressed, aside wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, said side wall converging towards the opposite wall of the cage from the open end thereof1 and a plurality of drainage members in said cage disposed substantially transversely to said side wall and separating the material in said cage into a plurality of batches, of a porous drainage medium within said cage between said converging side wall thereof and the edges of the batches of material in the cage for preventing solid particles of the material from vclogging said escape openings.

4. The combination with a press cage having an open end for the lintroduction of the material to be pressed, a side wall provided with small openings `for the escape of the expressed liquid, a plurality of drainage members disposed substantially transversely to said side wall and separating the material in said cage into a plurality of batches 'for effective drainage and for facilitating the llfi escape of the expressed liquid to the side wall, of a loose fibrous drainage fabric arranged to enter the open end of the cage, and

iaa

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means whereby said drainage fabric is drawn into the cage between said side wall and the edges of the separate batches of material when the material is charged into the cage, for receivingy the drainage from said `transversely disposed drainage members and preventingv solid particles of the material from clogging the escape openings in said side wall.

5. The combination with a press cage having an open end for the introduction of the material to be pressed and side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, said side wall convergtoward the opposite wall of the cage from the open end thereof, of a porous drainage medium within said cage between said converging' side wall thereof and the material being' pressed for preventing solid par-' ticles of the material from clogging' said escape openings, anda member which projects inwardly from said converging side wall at the open end of the cage for causing a looseness in the material in the cage adjacent said drainage medium.

6. The combination with a'press cage having an open end for the introductioii of the material to be pressed and a side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, said side wall converging toward the opposite wall of the cage from the open end thereof, of a member which projects inwardly7 from said convergingside wall at the open end of t-he cage for causing a looseness in the material in the cage adjacent said converging side wall.

7. The combination with a press cage having an open end for the introduction of the material to be pressed and a side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, said side wall converging toward the opposite wall of the cage from the open` end thereof, of a member which projects inwardly from said converging side wall at the open end of the cage for causing` a looseness in Jdie material in the cage adjacent said converging side wall, and means for moving said member from its inwardly proj ecting position so as not to obstruct'the discharge of the material through said open end of the press.

S. The combination with a press cage having' an open end for the introduction of the material to be pressed and a side wa'll provided with small. openings for the escape of the expressed liquid. and a. charge box which moves forwardly and baclrwardly over said open end of the cage to deposit charges of material in the cage, of a member which projects inwardly from the rear wall of the cage at the open end thereof for causing,r a

looseness of the material in the cage adjacent said member. i

9. The. combination with apress cage having an open end forthe introduction ofthe material to be pressed and a side Wal'l provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, and a charge box which moves forwardly and baekwardly over said open end of the cage to deposit charges of material in the cage, of a member which is positioned to project inwardly from the rear wall ofthe cage at the open end thereof when the charge box advances for causing a looseness of the material in the cagey adjacent Said member and is movable out of said inwardly projecting position when the charge box has been'retracted from over the cage.

lO. The combination with a .press cage having an open end for the introduction o the material to be pressed and a side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, and a charge box which moves forwardly and bac-kwardly over said Vopen end of the cage to deposit charges of material in the cage, of a. member which is actuated by the charge box to project inwardly from the rear wall of the cage at the open end thereof when the charge box advances for causing a looseness of the ma,- teria'l in the cage adjacent said member and moves out of said inwardly projecting position when the charge box has been retracted from over the cage.y

l1. The combination with a press cage having an open end for the introduction of the material to be pressed and a side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid7 and a charge box which moves forwardly and backwardl over said open end of the cage to deposit `charges of material in the cage, of a spring actuated member which normally stands upri ght andis moved to project inwardly from the rear 'wa-ll of the cage at the open end thereof when the charge box advances for causing a looseness of the material in the cage adjacent said member.

l2. The eombin ation with an upright press cager adapted to receive super-posed layers of material to be pressed separated by horizontally disposed press plates, and having a substantially vertical side wall provided with small openings for the escape of the expressed liquid, of a. separate fibrous drainage fabric strip, and means whereby said drainage fabric is moved in and out' of said cage and positioned when in said cage between said. side wall and the material being pressed for preventing solid particles of the material from clogging said escape o `enings.

ALFRED W. FREI'CH. 

